Wigan's week in court

A Wigan man has pleaded guilty to the kidnap and sexual assault of a schoolgirl.

Michael Ellis Owen, 33, of Bridgewater Street, Hindley, committed the offences against a 16-year-old girl on Sunday, March 13.

He had previously denied the charges, but changed his pleas to guilty as a trial was due to start at Bolton Crown Court.

Two further allegations – intending to commit a sexual assault and false imprisonment – will lie on the file.

He will be sentenced at Bolton Crown Court on Tuesday, November 15.

A Wigan man caught with drugs has been given a suspended prison sentence.

Glen Furlong, 52, of Millers Lane, Platt Bridge, was sentenced for possessing class C drug diazepam with intent to supply, possessing class A drug cocaine and having criminal property, ie cash.

He was given a 12-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, plus 20 days of rehabilitation activities and a four-month curfew.

Julie Furlong, 53, of the same address, was given a six-month community order with a two month curfew for possessing cocaine and criminal property.

A man who damaged several items, including a hairdryer, door and a police van, has been given a community order.

Daniel Ratcliffe, 31, of Virginia Way, Marsh Green, pleaded guilty to destroying a £50 hairdryer and causing £200 worth of damage to a car windscreen on August 9, and damaging a door on September 1.

He also damaged a perspex screen worth £20 in a police van on September 1 and used threatening or abusive words or behaviour towards a police officer the following day. Wigan magistrates imposed a two-year community order with 100 hours of unpaid work, 15 days of rehabilitation activities and 33 days of participation in an accredited programme.

Ratcliffe must pay £70 compensation, £85 prosecution costs and £114 to fund victim services.

A restraining order was imposed to ban him from contacting a named woman for a year.

An arrest warrant has been issued for a Wigan man who hurled threats and twice vandalised a car.

Thomas Wood, 37, of Keats Avenue, Worsley Mesnes, had previously stood before Wigan justices to admit to two counts of criminal damage, one of £1,316 to a vehicle on October 20 last year and another of £50 on November 21.

He had denied using threatening or abusive behaviour on the first occasion but was found guilty after a trial.

Wood also admitted he failed to answer court bail on July 27.

He had been released on conditional bail until his sentence hearing at the same court but he failed to attend at the appointed hour and so justices issued a bench warrant.

A Wigan man due to be sentenced by a judge will have to wait another week to find out his punishment after arriving in court late.

Nathan Modlinsky, 27, of Belmont Avenue, Bickershaw, previously pleaded guilty to being at the wheel of a BMW 320 on March 11 which was driven dangerously on Higher Green Lane and Lower Green Lane, Astley, failing to stop for the police and was driving without a licence or insurance.

He has also admitted two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, following two incidents involving the same female victim in 2021.

Modlinsky was supposed to receive his sentence at Bolton Crown Court last week after the hearing was adjourned from September due to the barristers’ strike.

But he turned up to the court late and Recorder Michael Taylor decided to reschedule the sentencing until this week.

Modlinsky was remanded in custody until then.

A Wigan man who made hundreds of indecent images of children has been jailed.

Christopher Casey, 43, of Chatteris Close, Hindley, created 102 pictures in the most serious abuse category (A), plus 221 category B images and 1,531 category C between May 6, 2017 and June 25, 2020.

He also possessed category B drug amphetamine. Casey was given a 10-month prison sentence and a 10-year sexual harm prevention order, as well as being told to sign the sex offenders’ register for 10 years.

A Wigan woman accused of launching a vicious Christmas Eve attack will have to wait another 11 months to stand trial.

Chantelle Foster, 32, of Rivington Drive, Bickershaw, is charged with intending to cause Mark Seddon grievous bodily harm – the most serious form of assault after attempted murder – on December 24 last year.

A trial has now been scheduled to take place at Bolton Crown Court on September 4, 2023.

It is expected to last for three days.

A Wigan man has admitted possessing both class A and class B drugs.

Ben Smith, 27, of Scholes, Scholes, pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine, as well as possession of cannabis with intent to supply, during a hearing at Bolton Crown Court. He may have to wait until the summer for his punishment, once his co-accused Samantha Cunliffe, 25, of Linney Square, Scholes, has stood trial accused of the same offences.

She denies the charges and will go before a judge and jury on August 16.

A man who went to a Wigan old people's home armed with kitchen knives is awaiting his fate.

Michael Medley, 34, of York Avenue, Tyldesley, stood before borough justices to plead guilty to having the offensive weapons at the Acorns care centre in Hindley on September 8.

He was released on unconditional bail until his sentencing hearing at the same court on November 7.

A Wigan woman has denied being the passenger in a car which had been taken without the owner's permission.

Naomi Cathuthers, 37, from Ince, stood before borough justices to enter a not guilty plea to the single charge of being carried in an Audi A3 which was being driven without its lawful owner's consent on May 3.

She was remanded on bail pending her trial set for January 3, before which time she must spend each night at her home address.

A 52-year-old motorist is awaiting sentence after admitting that he drove under the influence of cocaine.

Colin Ackers, of Weavermill Park, Ashton, appeared before Wigan magistrates to plead guilty to testing positive to the banned class A substance when tested at the wheel of a Citroen car in Liverpool Road, Platt Bridge, on November 17 last year.

He will be sentenced at the same court on November 16 before which he will be on bail conditional that he resides and sleeps each night at his home address and only uses public transport.

An interim driving disqualification was also handed down by the bench.

Sentence will be handed down to a 54-year-old Wigan driver next month after he confessed to being at the wheel while banned and possessing a banned drug.

Borough justices heard that David Porter, of Rose Street, Ince, was caught driving a Mercedes near his home on August 26 when he had been disqualified from the road and was found to have cocaine on him.

He will learn his fate on November 16 and in the meantime he is on bail conditional that he sleeps at his home address each night.

A trial date has been set for a woman who denies wielding a machete and attacking a man.

Christiana James, 44, of Winstanley Road, Billinge, appeared before Wigan and Leigh justices to deny charges of having the bladed weapon in a public place and assaulting Ian Chew by beating on December 2 last year on Imperial Drive, Leigh.

She was released on bail pending her trial whose date was fixed for February 16.

A condition of her release is that she does not have contact with Mr Chew and two named relatives of his, nor to enter Imperial Drive.

A Wigan teenager has admitted to drug possession and launching an attack.

Keegan Belshaw, 19, of Montrose Avenue, Worsley Hall, stood before borough justices to plead guilty to assaulting a named male by beating on January 17 in Wigan and to being caught with cannabis on Knowsley Lane, Huyton, Merseyside, on March 3.

He was released on unconditional bail until November 17 for a pre-sentence report to be prepared.

On that day he will also be pursued for the non-payment of a £1,310 fine handed down by the courts on January 7 for another offence.

A 40-year-old Wigan woman has denied stealing £370 worth of ornaments from a shop.

Lisa Fisher, of Eastwell Road, Beech Hill, stood before borough magistrates to plead not guilty to the single charge of taking the goods from Accessories 4 U on March 11.

A trial date was set for November 22 at the same court.

A disgraced Wigan schoolteacher who was jailed for 63 months for paedophile offences involving a 15-year-old boy has been banned from the country’s classrooms for life. Craig Slater, 41, who taught at Byrchall High School in Ashton, was jailed at Bolton Crown Court in April 2021 after pleading guilty to five counts of sexual activity with a child, three counts of making indecent images of a child, engaging in sexual communications with a child, inciting a child to watch sexual activity and inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

Now in the wake of the court case, the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) has banned him for life from ever teaching again.

In their findings they said that Slater had met the boy on an adult dating site and the boy had initially said he was 16 but had later told Slater that he was only 15.

Despite that the disciplinary panel findings say that Slater continued meeting the boy.

The findings say that Slater had “demonstrated a concerning lack of insight and remorse” in respect of his actions.

They continue: “He did not appear to appreciate the gravity of his conduct.

"He had exploited his position of trust, engaged in grooming behaviour and committed serious offences against a child.

"There was little evidence that Mr Slater had taken steps to address his offending behaviour.

"For this reason, the panel considered there was no strong evidence that it would not be repeated.”

In many cases where teachers are banned from teaching the way is left open for them to seek to have the ban lifted after a set period of years, but in this case the panel said there should be no opportunity for Slater to seek to return to teaching.

The findings say “The panel did not consider that Mr Slater had demonstrated significant insight or remorse and it was concerned about the risk of repetition.

"The panel did not therefore believe that Mr Slater should be allowed to teach again.”

Agreeing with the panel and imposing the life time ban on behalf of the Education Secretary, TRA decision maker, Sarah Buxcey said she considered that imposing the life-time ban was “necessary to maintain public confidence” and was “proportionate and in the public interest.”

A Wigan company has been accused of failing to provide information about who was driving one of its vehicles when it was involved in a motoring offence.

Northern Technology Ltd of Beecham Court, Goose Green, appeared before borough justices to deny the single charge involving a Volkswagen Golf and that it did not furnish the authorities with requested details by the due date of February 25.

A trial date of January 12 was set.

An arrest warrant has been issued for a 12-year-old wanted for causing criminal damage to Wigan's now closed shopping centre.

The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has been accused of causing £100 of damage to ceiling tiles in a stairwell of The Galleries, belonging to Prime Commercial Properties, on March 2.

He was due to appear before Wigan Youth Court this month but failed to appear and so the bench issued its warrant.

Magistrates have issued an arrest warrant for Wigan woman charged with fly-tipping behind her own home.

Chantelle Brown, 24, of Rathen Avenue, Ince, is charged on January 9 2021 with having 10 bin bags full of household rubbish plus cans and bottles which had been burnt and dumping them on land at the rear of her property without a waste management licence and contrary to the 1990 Environmental Protection Act.

She had been due to appear at Wigan's law courts but failed to show and so a warrant for her arrest was issued.